Hydrogeology and Simulation of Groundwater Flow in Cedar Valley, Utah County, Utah

Book excerpt: This CD contains a 125-page comprehensive study of the hydrogeology of Cedar Valley, Utah County, located in north-central Utah. The report includes 72 figures; two plates, one of which is a potentiometric map of the basin-fill, bedrock, and several perched aquifers; and seven appendices of data. Field investigations included groundwater chemistry sampling, regular water-level monitoring, and multiple-well aquifer testing. The field data were incorporated into a 3D digital groundwater flow model using MODFLOW2000. Seventy percent of the recharge to the Cedar Valley aquifer system is from precipitation in the Oquirrh Mountains. Groundwater generally flows from west to east and exits the aquifer system mostly as interbasin flow through bedrock to the northeast and southeast. The groundwater model showed a 39-year (1969-2007) average recharge to the Cedar Valley groundwater system of 25,600 acre-feet per year and discharge of 25,200 acre-feet per year. A significant volume of precipitation recharge (perhaps 4300 acre-feet per year) does not interact with the basin-fill aquifer but travels within bedrock to discharge to adjacent valleys or as bedrock well discharge. 125 pages + 2 plates